Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That—

(1) On Tuesday, 20 November 2012:

(a) the hours of meeting shall be 11 am to 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm to adjournment;

(b) the routine of business from not later than 7.30 pm shall be government business only; and

(c) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 10 pm.

(2) On Thursday, 22 November 2012:

(a) the hours of meeting shall be 9.30 am to 6 pm and 7 pm to 10.40 pm;

(b) divisions may take place after 4.30 pm;

(c) consideration of committee reports, government responses and Auditor-General’s reports shall not be proceeded with;

(d) the routine of business from not later than 7 pm shall be government business only; and

(e) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 10 pm.

I commence by acknowledging that there has been considerable cooperation on debate of legislation in these Spring sittings. The Senate has dealt with several packages with very tight implementation deadlines in the past few months. Though the different packages have not necessarily been supported by all of the chamber, the chamber has worked effectively to deal with these packages.

I had hoped that we could continue to work effectively to deliver the remainder of the government's legislative program for this year, with some additional agreed hours for this week and the next; but, unfortunately, it seems this will not be possible.

I note that while the Greens and Senators Madigan and Xenophon are supportive of the relatively minor increase in hours set out in this motion, the opposition is not prepared to support this motion today. I regret that this is the case, as I do believe that there is capacity for the chamber to reach agreement on reasonable ways to handle the government's legislative program with minimal disruption to senators and their work outside the chamber. Providing some additional hours for government business in two evenings this week is an effective way of achieving this. I note that agreement on a schedule of non-controversial legislation for Thursdays, including the various bills listed for passage in the timeslot this Thursday, demonstrates that cooperation is possible. Again I place on record that the government appreciates this cooperation and seeks to extend it with this motion for additional hours.

The additional hours as set out in the motion are not excessive. They provide an additional five or so hours of government business time this week. The motion does not seek to curtail opportunities for general business and it seeks to trim just small amounts of time on government documents. This debate time is routinely not used or not used to its full extent. It is very typical for the Senate to provide for additional time to handle government legislation at this stage of the sittings. I believe that the additional hours in this motion are moderate. This is a reasonable approach to adding to government business time in the second-last week of the sittings for 2012, and I commend the motion to the chamber.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition comes to this motion bringing to bear our usual reasonableness. I think Senator Collins has mischaracterised the opposition. We have been, I think, a particularly cooperative opposition in terms of the management of the chamber. On many occasions we have ceded our own time to facilitate the passage of legislation through this place. On a number of occasions we have ceded our private senator's business time on a Thursday morning to facilitate the passage of legislation. In fact, the bill that we were just debating was being debated because the opposition agreed to the Senate sitting an hour and a half earlier—again to facilitate the good working of this chamber. So we are not opposed per se to extending hours or varying arrangements; we look at these things on a case-by-case basis. But we have a hesitation with this particular motion because, as we get towards the end of the year, we will never get a guarantee from the other side that they will refuse to deploy the gag, that they will refuse to guillotine. We would never get that undertaking from the government.

We are seeing now what we tend to see at this time each year, and that is a contradictory approach by the government. On the one hand they are seeking additional hours, but we all know that next week we will see guillotine motions and we will see the gag deployed. What the government is seeking to give in terms of hours to the chamber for debate, they will take away at the end of the sitting period. So there will probably be no net difference in the actual number of hours that are dedicated for the debate of legislation. It is perverse to say, 'We are going to extend hours' and then say next week, 'We are going to gag.' There is an inherent contradiction there.

This motion and the motions which we will no doubt see in the days to come ultimately reflect the government's chronic incapacity to manage the business of the government in this chamber within the hours and the days that they set. We should not forget that it is the government that set the number of sitting days. It is the government that list the legislation for government business time, that list the priority, that list the order. It is entirely within the government's capacity to manage the legislative agenda within the bounds that they themselves set. They set the days and they list the legislation. If they are having difficulty managing within the bounds that they have set, then perhaps they should consider allocating additional sitting days when they set the sitting program. Perhaps the government should consider a more cooperative approach with the parties in this place to facilitate the debate and passage of legislation.

If we thought that there was behind this motion a genuine intent to make this place work better, we might be minded to support it. But we know what is coming next week. We know the gag is coming, we know the guillotine is coming. This government is not only manifestly incompetent when it comes to managing the affairs of government; it is the same in relation to the legislative program. I cannot level the blame entirely at those sitting opposite me; I think Mr Albanese needs to take a fair share of the responsibility for the mismanagement of the legislative program in this place.

I do not want to unduly detain the chamber but I think it is important for the record to show that there is not goodwill behind this motion and that we will see contradictory behaviour by the government next week when we see them go back to their old habits. I have been in this place for eight or so years. Senator Macdonald has been in this place longer than anyone who is presently here in the chamber. I know that in my experience—and, I would hazard a guess, probably in his experience as well—I have never seen so many attempts to vary the hours and the routine of business as we have seen under this government. We are not seeing orderly management. It is something that the government may want to reflect on over the summer break.

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the question be now put.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion moved by Senator Collins that the question be put be agreed to:

The question is that the original motion moved by Senator Collins be agreed to.